Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Blog Kiosk: 8/16/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

“Kind of a weird night,” Wood said. “I didn’t feel like I had my best stuff. We made some (good) pitches. It’s a kind of an interesting dynamic became they’re one of the most aggressive teams in all of baseball, so it was a lot more of my secondary stuff, and I feel like we were able to command that for the most part and made some pitches and they put the ball on the ground and in the air. … I just had to hold us in there till we got that offensive explosion.”

Soon, a bases loaded hit-by-pitch drives in the go-ahead run and opened a floodgate that eventually lead to four more runs crossing the plate.

This Day in Dodgers History: In 1950 Giants third baseman Hank Thompson hit two inside-the-park home runs off Dodger pitchers Don Bankhead and Carl Erskine at the Polo Grounds. Brooklyn got pummelled 16-7. In 1964 Cardinals great Curt Flood recorded eight consecutive hits against the Dodgers during a doubleheader in Los Angeles; including four hit against Sandy Koufax. Unfortunately, Koufax injured his elbow while on the basepaths and would not pitch again this season. In 1988 the Dodgers traded fan favorite Pedro Guerrero to the Cardinals for starting pitcher John Tudor. This move would prove to be an impactful one. I nine starts Tudor would solidify the rotation by going 4-3 with an 2.41 ERA and 3.36 FIP.

Audio: Andrew Friedman joins Lunchtime with Roggin and Rodney to talk about the return of Adrian Gonzalez, the impact of Yu Darvish and the teams chase for the best regular season record in baseball history. (audio link)

Video: Dave Roberts on making a 5-run comeback in the 8th inning, being 50 games over .500 and more after Dodgers' 6-1 win over the White Sox on Tuesday. (video link)

Video: Austin Barnes speaks to Kelli Tennant after the Dodgers score a 5-run comeback in the 8th inning to beat the White Sox on Tuesday night. (video link)

ICYMI: The Dodgers traded Chris Hatcher to the A's for international amateur signing bonus pool space. Rob Segedin was brought up to LA in his place.

“The communication from Andrew, Farhan (Zaidi) and the multiple GMs around here is extremely comfortable,’’ Dodgers veteran pitcher Rich Hill says. “It’s not like, 'Oh, wow, I can’t talk to him because he’s the president or the GM.' There are no barriers or walls. The level of respect is there for everybody, and you just don’t find that in every organization. Hopefully, other organizations will look at this as a model for everyone.’’

Make no mistake, this is an organization that thrives on data. Players are given charts before each game on everything from defensive positioning to opposing pitchers’ tendencies to secretive injuries. Catcher Yasmani Grandal has a color-coded cheat sheet on his wrist band. Outfielders carry index cards in their back pockets during games, reminding them of their defensive placement. Players are given access to a proprietary statistical website.

Panini shares even more preview pics from their upcoming 2017 Immaculate Baseball set -- featuring cards unearthed from actual boxes; including those of Clayton Kershaw and Lou Gehrig. Go here to check out more. This brand officially goes live today.

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis